H R Block

H&R Block Inc. said the Securities and Exchange Commission was investigating the company's disclosure of lawsuits stemming from its tax refund loans. The SEC has begun a formal investigation into company filings before December 2002. H&R Block reported a $41.7-million charge in November 2002 to settle a Texas lawsuit over its loans, which advance money to clients while they await tax refunds.

A former manager of an H&R Block tax preparation office in the San Fernando Valley was sentenced to one year in federal prison for using the identities of his company's clients to file false income tax returns and steal the refunds. Damon Charles Dubose, 40, who worked as a manager at an H&R Block office in Van Nuys, had pleaded guilty in March to wire fraud and filing false tax returns. He acknowledged using personal information of the firm's clients - including names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers - to file at least 12 false and unauthorized returns that generated more than $48,000 in refunds.

About 600,000 H&R Block customers face lengthy delays for tax refunds after a filing error by the Kansas City, Mo.-based tax preparer, the Internal Revenue Service said late Tuesday. The filing blunder affects customers -- mainly students -- who filed Form 8863 for education credits. Many were upset the delay would affect applications for federal financial aid for college. "The IRS is continuing to review the situation and working with affected software companies to assist in the processing of these tax returns," said IRS spokeswoman Michelle Eldridge, in a statement.

About 600,000 H&R Block customers face lengthy delays for tax refunds after a filing error by the Kansas City, Mo.-based tax preparer, the Internal Revenue Service said late Tuesday. The filing blunder affects customers -- mainly students -- who filed Form 8863 for education credits. Many were upset the delay would affect applications for federal financial aid for college. "The IRS is continuing to review the situation and working with affected software companies to assist in the processing of these tax returns," said IRS spokeswoman Michelle Eldridge, in a statement.

March 13, 2013 | By Ricardo Lopez and Adolfo Flores, Los Angeles Times

Some taxpayers splurge on big-screen televisions or pay off their credit cards with their tax refund, while others, like Brandon Frank, count on it to pay rent. The 25-year-old former construction worker from Michigan and father of three may have to wait as long as six weeks before he sees his refund, because of a filing error by H&R Block. "I was counting on it for rent," said Frank, who's been unemployed since October and is attending college. "I'm probably going to have to go to one of the cash-advance places, because the money I was expecting isn't there.

H&R Block Inc., the world's biggest tax-preparation company, recorded a profit in its fiscal first quarter for the first time in seven years as it expanded in mortgage lending. Net income was $10.6 million, or 6 cents a share, for the three months through July, the Kansas City, Mo.-based company said. The results contrast with a loss of $9.5 million, or 5 cents, a year earlier. Revenue rose 15% to $495 million. In the quarter, new loans rose 58% to $5.3 billion.

A federal judge has approved a $39-million settlement in a long-running class-action lawsuit against H&R Block Inc. by customers who claimed they paid too much for refund anticipation loans. "I conclude that the settlement in this case is fair and reasonable," U.S. District Judge Elaine E. Bucklo said in an order issued Monday approving the third effort to reach a settlement in the suit, which has dragged on since 1998.

H&R Block Inc. said its fiscal second-quarter loss shrank as improvement in its off-season tax service was offset by losses in its banking division. The nation's largest tax preparer reported losing $135.9 million, or 41 cents a share, during the quarter ended Oct. 31. By comparison, the Kansas City company lost $502.3 million, or $1.55 a share, a year earlier. The loss from continuing operations narrowed to $133.2 million, or 40 cents a share, from $134.9 million, or 42 cents a share.

The growth strategy of tax-preparation giant H&R Block Inc. is rankling some of its oldest and largest franchisees, prompting them to go to court. In a lawsuit filed in a Kansas circuit court, 24 franchisees claimed that Kansas City-based H&R Block is unfairly competing with them and breaching long-standing contractual agreements by distributing tax-preparation software on the Internet and through retail outlets.

A federal judge barred H&R Block, the nation's largest income tax preparer, from using misleading phrases to advertise its Rapid Refund loan program and ordered it to pay more than $500,000 to an upstart rival. U.S. District Judge Raymond Jackson in Norfolk, Va., accused H&R Block of deliberately and maliciously using deceptive advertising to draw customers in the Hampton Roads, Va., area just as a competing tax preparation service was launching its business there.

March 13, 2013 | By Ricardo Lopez and Adolfo Flores, Los Angeles Times

Some taxpayers splurge on big-screen televisions or pay off their credit cards with their tax refund, while others, like Brandon Frank, count on it to pay rent. The 25-year-old former construction worker from Michigan and father of three may have to wait as long as six weeks before he sees his refund, because of a filing error by H&R Block. "I was counting on it for rent," said Frank, who's been unemployed since October and is attending college. "I'm probably going to have to go to one of the cash-advance places, because the money I was expecting isn't there.

A former manager of an H&R Block tax preparation office in Van Nuys pleaded guilty to charges that he used the identities of the firm's clients to file false tax returns and get thousands of dollars in fraudulent refunds. Damon Charles Dubose, 39, of North Hills pleaded guilty on Monday to one count of wire fraud and one count of filing false claims with the Internal Revenue Service. Dubose used his access to client records to file unauthorized tax returns for at least 12 people, generating more than $48,000 in fraudulent refunds, federal prosecutors said.

As the adage goes, there's an app for almost everything, so with tax season in full swing it's not surprising that there are apps for filing taxes. Both H&R Block and TurboTax have apps that enable users to file taxes with their Apple or Android smartphones. But how good are they? Can users file their federal taxes with just a few taps on 4-inch screens? PHOTOS: Tech we want to see in 2013 That's what I set off to find out, and the answer for most people will probably be no. The H&R Block 1040EZ 2012 app, otherwise known as H&R Block at Home, and the TurboTax SnapTax app let users fill out a tax return and electronically send it to the Internal Revenue Service.

Derrick Bean filed his income taxes at an H&R Block office in Los Angeles this month, and the 26-year-old left with something unexpected: a price quote on federally subsidized health insurance. Using the information from his 2012 return, a tax advisor told the actor and waiter that he would qualify for significant government help and pay only about $65 a month in premiums under the federal healthcare law. If he skips coverage, H&R Block warned him, he faces a $95 tax penalty next year and $356 the following year.

Here's your mad-about-you Monday roundup of consumer news from around the Web: --Wal-Mart wants you to pay your taxes. And to help, free preparation of simple tax forms will be made available at more than 3,000 Wal-Mart Stores nationwide. The nation's largest retailer has contracted with the top two tax prep companies, H&R Block and Jackson-Hewitt Tax Service, to set up kiosks inside its stores where customers can have their tax returns completed by trained preparers.

Bankruptcy filings surged 32% in 2009 U.S. consumers and businesses filed for bankruptcy at a pace that made 2009 the seventh-worst year on record, with more than 1.4 million petitions submitted, an Associated Press tally showed. The AP gathered data from the nation's 90 bankruptcy districts and found 1.43 million filings, an increase of 32% from 2008. There were 116,000 recorded bankruptcies in December, up 22% from the same month a year earlier. The numbers indicate clear correlations to recession-weary regions.

H&R Block Inc., the largest U.S. tax preparer, said fiscal third-quarter earnings more than quadrupled to $132 million as it sold assets related to its mortgage business. The Kansas City, Mo.-based company earned 73 cents a share, compared with $29.6 million, or 16 cents, in the year-earlier period. Revenue increased 30.7% to $958.4 million. The company said it expected to earn $3.10 to $3.25 a share in fiscal 2003, an increase of its previous forecast. H&R Block shares fell 42 cents to $37.

H&R Block Inc. said its fiscal fourth-quarter net profit rose 10% to $374 million, or $4 a share, in line with expectations, as it charged customers more for its main tax preparation services. But the firm warned that its revenue growth over the next 12 months probably would be lower than its target of 10% to 15%, as its investment management operation continues to struggle with ailing stock markets. The Kansas City, Mo.

California's attorney general has settled a lawsuit against H&R Block Inc. over a widely used loan program that gives the nation's largest tax preparer a chunk of customers' tax refunds. Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown said Friday that the $4.85-million settlement would stop H&R Block from offering high-cost loans it had marketed as early tax refunds. Former Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer sued H&R Block in 2006, adding California to a long list of others that sued over its "refund anticipation loans."